1. Field of the Disclosure
This disclosure pertains in general to a cable for communicating data between a transmitter and a receiver, and more particularly to a cable that includes circuitry for communicating performance information with either the transmitter or the receiver.
2. Description of the Related Art
Video and audio data is typically transferred from one device to another across using communication links (e.g., wired or wireless links) with protocols such as high definition multimedia interface (HDMI) or mobile high-definition link (MHL). Wired communication links can include cables comprising one or more conductors for communicating data between devices. Cables used for the wired communication links are selected based on, among other features, a power handling capability (at both a source end and sink end of the cable).
While some interface standards can provide a mechanism for the cable between a source device and a sink device to identify itself as being a compliant device for that interconnect (e.g. MHL), there are no current solutions for an interconnect to indicate to another device—either a source device or a sink device —whether a performance parameter of the interconnect is within a performance range of that interface standard. For example, if an interface standard allows a sink to provide 5 Volts at up to 1 Ampere to a connected source, then the cable is expected to be able to electrically handle signals up to 5 Watts. A cable with a power handling capacity of less than 5 Watt would not be able to support such standard and would not be able to indicate its inability to a coupled device because it lacks any such means to indicate such limitation to the coupled device.
Cable length, for example, can be a marketable feature. The longer the length of a cable the more difficult for the cable to maintain the quality of signals being carried through the cable. Therefore, to be able to use longer cables effectively, there is a need for a mechanism through which a cable can identify itself to and/or indicate to a coupled device that the cable has one or more limitations with respect to performance requirements as required by a particular interface standard.